best practices for organization leaders who lead customer survey projects

1. Twelve Tips for Successful Customer Surveys
From Plan to Action
What can an organization leader do to maximize the value of customer surveys and assessments? Every customer inquiry brings with
it inherent opportunities to improve, enhance value or better align the organization with the needs and wants of its stakeholders. It also
brings along risks that can not only reduce the effectiveness of any customer inquiry, but also lessen the degree to which the
information is incorporated into action plans. And there is the always present danger that erroneous/inaccurate or biased information
steer the organization in the wrong direction. Here are a set of tips to make the most of your customer surveys.
1. Define your primary business question and the related 7. Identify one internal point of contact and project
supporting questions. When possible, relate it to your manager. Managing the scope and facilitating the
organization’s strategic direction. The inquiry’s process with internal audiences can help keep a
objectives keep the project focused throughout the project on schedule, on target and on budget.
research process. Information has value to the extent
that it can be applied to a specific purpose. Greater 8. Play an active role in promoting participation towards
clarity yields on-target research objectives and achieving a strong response rate. Activities that
actionable outcomes. reinforce survey awareness and encourage
participation improve data quality and precision. This
2. Estimate the value of the desired information and the reduces non-response biases and improves
costs and risks associated with an erroneous, missing accuracy.
or untimely measurement. Estimate the benefit of the
activity your organization will undertake with new 9. Assign adequate resources according to your
information. Narrowing down your business question information objectives and internal capabilities. While
and the value of the desired information is critical to a savings can sometimes be attained by cutting costs,
successful customer inquiry as it helps estimate the these are often trade-offs such as lower data
required precision, level of effort, timeline, precision, quality or risk. Sacrificing appropriate
sampling and budget. research techniques and advanced analytics can lead
to biased, incorrect or insufficient information that
3. Identify and involve your key information impacts the quality of the decisions that are made
stakeholders. Information will be most useful when it based on the data. This is essential to overall
has involved those who will be responsible for acting quality.
on the survey findings. This sometimes includes both
strategic and tactical levels of the organization. 10. Choose a research team that can lead the effort with
Stakeholders who are involved from early on strengths in quality and minimal biases. Look for
contribute toward better protocol design, greater expertise in survey methods, fielding, statistical
utility and use of the resulting data. analysis and the content areas. It is often good to
have an independent external researcher guide your
4. Equip the researcher with sufficient background survey to avoid internal biases. But just because a
information about objectives and previous efforts. If a researcher is external to the organization, does not
similar survey has been conducted in the past, offer mean they are bias-free. This enhances capabilities
the data and share information about the challenges and reduces biases and hidden agendas.
and strengths of the previous survey administration.
This results in better protocols and survey 11. Use the information you receive. If you have
instruments. effectively linked your inquiry with your business
objectives and have involved the information
5. Use data that is already available. Data collection is stakeholders, the process of using the data is easier.
expensive, and time-consuming. An assessment of Change is not easy, so be prepared to actively
the availability and reliability of existing data should manage action plan formulation and execution not
precede new data collection. This increases only for positive findings but for challenges
efficiency and efficacy. encountered as well. This maximizes information
utility.
6. Define your survey population within your target
audiences. Also, think about the subgroups you are 12. Let your stakeholders know you are responding to
most interested in learning about and those you need their needs and value their feedback. Research
to exclude. This leads to a strong sampling and shows that customer loyalty rises among those who
analysis plan. have been surveyed, especially when they believe
their input has been acted on. Furthermore,
subsequent survey response rates also rise. This
enhances stakeholder relationships.
This document is provided by courtesy of EurekaFacts LLC,
an independent research and analysis firm specialized in
working with nonprofits and government organizations.
www.EurekaFacts.com
© 2009 EurekaFacts LLC